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The Lionesses’ historic Euro 2025 victory is set to deliver a significant windfall not just for the players, but also for the UK taxman, with HMRC expected to receive £788,900 from the team’s prize money, according to analysis by tax and advisory firm Blick Rothenberg.
Each player is expected to receive an average bonus of £73,000, which pushes their earnings above the £125,140 threshold where the highest effective marginal tax rate of 47% applies. That means players could be paying around £34,300 each in combined income tax and National Insurance Contributions (NIC), according to Robert Salter, Director at Blick Rothenberg.
“The Lionesses will be delighted with their win at Euro 2025 for what it represents and the hard work that went into it,” Salter said. “But they will have a hefty tax bill to pay to HMRC on their prize money.”
Salter noted that although the Lionesses still earn less than their male counterparts, their tournament bonuses are substantial enough to trigger the UK’s top tax bracket. The 47% figure comprises 45% income tax and 2% employee NIC.
In addition to the tax paid by players, the Football Association (FA) is also expected to face a £255,000 liability in employer NIC on the prize bonuses, further increasing HMRC’s overall take from the team’s success.
And the revenue doesn’t stop there. Many of the Lionesses are expected to earn significantly more in the coming months from sponsorship deals, marketing campaigns, and media appearances, all of which are subject to income tax. Salter said these post-tournament earnings, especially image rights and appearance fees, will continue to drive up the players’ taxable income — and with it, HMRC’s share.
“Their earnings are likely to increase significantly over the coming months, given their success and the ongoing growth in the profile of the Women’s game,” Salter added. “HMRC will be getting even more tax ‘wins’ in the future.”
While the Lionesses’ on-pitch victory has been widely celebrated across the country, their financial success off the pitch is proving to be a win for the Treasury as well — a reminder that even sporting triumphs come with a tax bill.
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HMRC scores tax windfall from Lionesses’ Euro 2025 prize money

BT has refunded or credited £18 million to customers following enforcement action by Ofcom, after the telecoms giant was found to have breached rules requiring it to provide clear and simple contract information before customers signed up to new deals.
The refunds follow a £2.8 million fine issued by the regulator last year, which concluded that BT had failed to meet its obligations for customers across its EE and Plusnet brands.
Under Ofcom rules introduced in 2022, telecoms providers are required to give customers key information about their contract—including price, length, and early exit fees—before they agree to sign up. The measures are designed to ensure greater transparency and protect consumers from unexpected charges or terms.
BT said it had since taken steps to address the issue and ensure compliance with the regulations going forward. Ofcom confirmed the £18 million in refunds covered customers affected by the breach, either through direct reimbursement or account credit.
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BT refunds £18m to customers after failing to provide contract information

Shareholders of Wise have approved a controversial plan to shift the UK fintech’s primary listing from London to New York, while also granting co-founder and CEO Kristo Kaarmann another decade of enhanced voting rights—cementing his control of the £11 billion payments business despite owning just 18 per cent of its shares.
The dual-class structure extension, which was opposed by Wise’s former chairman and co-founder Taavet Hinrikus, passed on Monday with 91 per cent of class A and 85 per cent of class B shares voting in favour. A suite of related resolutions underpinning the move and governance structure changes received similarly strong backing.
The result gives Kaarmann, who holds a 55 per cent voting majority, a renewed mandate to direct the company through its US expansion, even as critics accuse Wise of betraying its founding principles of transparency and shareholder democracy.
Hinrikus, who still owns a 5.1 per cent stake, had fiercely opposed the proposal. He accused the company of “burying” the extension of Kaarmann’s power in the fine print of the plan to move the listing, arguing the measures should have been presented as separate votes. In comments ahead of the vote, he warned the board had broken with the “spirit” and “core values” that Wise was founded on.
“It was entirely inappropriate and unfair that the dual-class share extension and the listing move were bundled together,” Hinrikus said.
When Wise floated in London in 2021, shareholders were explicitly told that the dual-class structure would expire by July 2026. The extension to 2036 was not mentioned in the public announcement of the listing change, but appeared in a 94-page shareholder circular—a detail Hinrikus used to reinforce his claims of a lack of transparency.
Chairman David Wells, speaking after the vote, said the board was pleased with the outcome and that the company now had a “strong mandate to proceed”. He defended the extension of voting rights, describing Wise as “a company that thinks in decades” and adding that the proposal had been “set out clearly … and received positively.”
The AGM proceeded without questions or comments from shareholders.
Proxy voting agencies including Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) initially recommended backing the plan but updated their guidance following Hinrikus’s intervention to raise concerns about the concentration of voting power. Wise was also forced to retract a claim that the proxy firm Pirc supported the proposal.
Wise, originally known as TransferWise, was founded in 2011 by Kaarmann and Hinrikus, two Estonian entrepreneurs who built the company into one of Europe’s most prominent fintechs, used by millions for cross-border payments. The business has made billionaires of both founders and was once viewed as a key success story in the UK’s tech scene.
However, the decision to leave London for New York is a further blow to the City, which has seen several high-profile firms defect to the US in search of deeper capital pools and higher valuations. Wise’s move comes amid sluggish UK market performance and wider concerns over the attractiveness of London as a destination for growth companies.
While the company denies any attempt to obscure the governance changes, and argues that dual-class structures often produce superior long-term returns, the episode has fuelled wider debate about corporate governance, transparency, and investor rights in the UK’s tech sector.
With the vote now concluded, Kaarmann’s grip on Wise is stronger than ever — but the discontent from one of its founding figures is likely to leave a lasting mark.
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Wise shareholders vote to move primary listing to US and extend co-founder’s voting control

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has blocked Chancellor Rachel Reeves from holding a proposed meeting with financial technology giant Revolut, in a move that underscores growing tensions between the Treasury and Britain’s financial regulators.
The meeting, which would have brought together Revolut, the Treasury, and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)—the Bank of England division responsible for licensing banks—was intended to discuss Revolut’s long-delayed plans to launch full banking operations in the UK. However, it was cancelled at Bailey’s request, over concerns that it could be seen as political interference in the Bank’s independent supervisory role.
The intervention, first reported by the Financial Times, is the latest sign of friction between the new Labour government’s pro-growth agenda and the cautious stance of regulators.
Reeves has made loosening regulatory constraints a central part of her strategy to stimulate the UK economy. In a high-profile speech at the Mansion House earlier this month, she claimed that in many areas, regulation “acts as a boot on the neck of businesses,” and urged regulators to adopt a more enabling approach to encourage investment and innovation.
Bailey has publicly pushed back. Asked about Reeves’s remarks during a session of the Commons Treasury Committee, the governor said: “I don’t use those terms, let me say that,” and warned: “We cannot compromise on basic financial stability.”
A Treasury source downplayed the episode, saying: “Revolut are a really important global bank based in the UK. But that is a process being led by the PRA at a working level.” In an official statement, the Treasury added that “the chancellor and the governor have a strong and productive relationship and the government fully supports the operational independence of the Bank of England.”
Revolut, one of the most prominent names in UK fintech, was founded in 2015 as a foreign exchange startup and has since grown into a wide-ranging digital financial platform offering services from crypto trading to stock brokerage. The London-based company employs over 10,000 staff and reported £1.1 billion in pre-tax profits last year. It was recently valued at $45 billion, making it one of the most valuable private tech companies in the UK.
Despite this success, Revolut’s ambition to secure a UK banking licence has been mired in delays. It applied for authorisation in early 2021, but concerns raised by its auditor BDO over £477 million of its 2021 revenue led to questions from regulators and slowed the process significantly.
Although those issues have since been resolved and Revolut was granted restricted authorisation a year ago, it has still not received full approval to begin banking operations in the UK. In contrast, it already provides banking services in the EU via a licence obtained in Lithuania.
Bailey’s intervention to block the meeting adds to growing scrutiny of how Revolut is being treated by regulators, and whether political pressure is appropriate in a sector where regulatory independence is paramount.
For the Chancellor, the episode highlights the limits of her ability to fast-track innovation through top-down reform, particularly when it comes to a Bank of England increasingly assertive in defending its remit. For Bailey, it reinforces the Bank’s insistence that while fostering innovation is welcome, financial stability cannot be compromised—even in pursuit of growth.
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Andrew Bailey blocks Rachel Reeves’s meeting with Revolut amid concerns over political interference

Taxpayers have been warned to settle their tax bills by 31st July or risk incurring late payment interest at 8.25%, as HMRC intensifies its crackdown on unpaid liabilities.
The alert comes from Blick Rothenberg, a leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, which says taxpayers who have yet to pay their second payment on account for the 2024/25 tax year must act quickly to avoid financial penalties.
“From May 2022, HMRC increased late payment interest from 3.5% to 8.25% as part of their agenda to crack down on people that owe tax,” said Tom Goddard, Senior Associate at Blick Rothenberg. “People who owe money for the 2024/25 tax year must pay their bill as soon as possible.”
What are payments on account?
Payments on account are advance payments made towards the next year’s income tax bill, calculated based on a taxpayer’s previous year’s liability. They are paid in two instalments — one by 31st January, and the second by 31st July.
For example, someone with a £10,000 second payment on account who delays payment until 31st December 2025 would face nearly £350 in interest charges, Goddard explained.
“This is also an incentive to get your tax return submitted early,” he added. “By doing so, you ensure your July payment is accurate — rather than risk overpaying and waiting for a refund.”
Can payments be reduced?
Yes — if a taxpayer reasonably expects that their income for 2024/25 will be lower than in 2023/24, they may reduce their payments on account. However, Goddard warned that over-reducing the figure could lead to interest charges and potential penalties if the estimate proves too low.
“Now that the 2024/25 tax year has ended, those who have already made a claim to reduce their payments on account should check whether this was appropriate based on their final income levels and, if necessary, adjust their payments,” he said.
Who needs to pay?
Payments on account generally apply to those with self-employment income, rental profits, or investment income, where tax isn’t deducted at source.
Taxpayers do not need to make payments on account if:
• Their 2023/24 tax liability was under £1,000, or
• More than 80% of their tax was collected through PAYE.
Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is also excluded from payments on account.
What if you can’t pay?
Goddard urged those struggling financially to contact HMRC directly as soon as possible.
“HMRC may offer a payment plan to help alleviate some of the financial burden, allowing payments to take place over a more manageable timeframe,” he said.
With just days left before the 31st July deadline, taxpayers are advised to check their status, file their returns if possible, and take action — or risk costly charges and escalating interest in the months ahead.
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Taxpayers who haven’t settled their bill with HMRC must pay by 31st July or face fines and interest

The rapid rise of padel in the UK is fuelling a wave of planning activity, with new figures showing a 113 per cent increase in court applications in 2024 alone.
The sport’s continued surge in popularity has unlocked nearly 17,000 potential development sites across the country, according to new data released by land and planning insight platform Searchland.
Padel — a fast-paced racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash — has become one of the UK’s fastest-growing sports. Figures from the Lawn Tennis Association show that the number of people playing the sport has jumped from just 89,000 in 2021 to more than 400,000 by the end of 2024. This unprecedented growth, coupled with relatively low setup costs and compact court dimensions, has made padel a prime opportunity for investors, developers, and local authorities.
Searchland’s data reveals that the number of padel-related planning applications has risen sharply in recent years. In 2021, only 53 applications were submitted. This increased to 82 in 2022, then nearly doubled to 163 in 2023, before jumping to 348 last year — a 113 per cent annual rise. Already in 2025, 295 applications have been submitted, and the company projects this will rise to 544 by the end of the year, marking a further 56 per cent year-on-year increase.
The platform has also identified a broad and largely untapped pipeline of sites that are well-suited for padel development. It estimates there are currently 16,851 “existing destination opportunities” — sports venues such as golf courses, racquet clubs, and football facilities that have unused land suitable for padel. These sites are typically located in or near urban areas where demand for leisure activities is high. London alone accounts for 1,086 of these opportunities, with 47 of them already having submitted planning applications. Other cities showing strong development potential include Bristol, with 206 sites, followed by Edinburgh, Leeds, and Manchester.
Beyond sports venues, Searchland has pinpointed 15,742 commercial properties across the UK that are appropriate for padel conversion. These include underutilised buildings or sites that can accommodate padel courts and are positioned in areas with a likely captive audience. London again tops this category, with 929 such sites, followed by Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Bradford, and Sheffield.
In addition to permanent sites, Searchland has also identified 674 “short-term padel investment opportunities”. These are large-scale development areas — such as housing estates with long construction schedules — where padel courts could be temporarily installed to generate revenue before full development begins. In many cases, these courts could either be dismantled when required or retained as a feature of the final project. London is home to 151 of these short-term opportunities, while Bristol and Birmingham also offer potential.
Speaking on the findings, Hugh Gibbs, co-founder of Searchland, said the rise in padel’s popularity is more than a cultural moment — it’s a clear market signal.
“Padel’s extraordinary rise in popularity isn’t just a trend,” he said. “It’s a powerful signal to landowners, developers, and local authorities. The combination of surging participation, relatively low setup costs, and strong ROI potential makes padel an ideal addition to both temporary and permanent development plans.”
With almost 17,000 locations already identified as prime opportunities, the potential for growth is immense. As interest continues to grow and demand outpaces supply in many areas, padel is quickly becoming one of the UK’s most attractive sporting investments — offering developers a unique chance to meet the country’s appetite for active, community-driven spaces.
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UK padel boom triggers surge in planning applications as nearly 17,000 development sites identified

Sales of prestige lip products in the UK have surged by 16 per cent year-on-year to £80.4 million in the six months to June, as cash-strapped consumers turn to small luxuries to lift their mood — a classic example of the so-called “lipstick effect.”
The term, coined by Leonard Lauder, former chairman of Estée Lauder, describes how sales of cosmetics and affordable indulgences tend to rise during economic downturns as consumers forgo big-ticket items but still seek moments of emotional reward.
New data from market research firm Circana suggests the trend is alive and well in 2025. Lip product sales grew at nearly double the rate of the broader make-up category, and more than three times the pace of eye make-up sales, highlighting the growing demand for portable, feel-good beauty items.
“While 2025 has been a challenging year and many consumers have become selective in their spending, they are still splashing out on affordable luxuries like lipstick and beauty buys to boost their mood,” said June Jensen, vice-president of Circana’s UK prestige beauty division.
It’s not just about colour anymore. Consumers are increasingly gravitating towards multi-functional products, particularly lip items that combine colour with skincare benefits. Sales of hydrating balms and lip oils surged by 21 per cent year-on-year, with shoppers seeking out formulas that moisturise, tint, and protect, often with added SPF or anti-ageing ingredients.
“These are moments of private indulgence and pleasure that offer refuge from a chaotic world,” Jensen added.
The trend has also been amplified by social media and influencer marketing, with platforms like TikTok and Instagram driving interest in new textures and hybrid formulations. Products like overnight lip masks, tinted balms, and skincare-infused glosses have seen a particular rise.
One standout brand is Laneige, whose products gained popularity through singer Charli XCX’s online endorsements and ambassador work, tapping into a younger demographic eager for accessible but aspirational beauty buys.
While lip products are leading the charge, Circana suggests the lipstick effect is expanding into other categories as consumers look for multi-purpose, mood-boosting beauty staples. Items such as tinted moisturisers, concealers, setting sprays, and powders with skincare benefits are showing early signs of similar growth.
“The lipstick effect is likely to continue flourishing in this economic climate,” said Jensen. “But it’s not just about lipstick anymore — it’s about affordable confidence in all forms.”
In an era of economic caution, the success of prestige beauty suggests that emotional uplift remains a priority — and that even a swipe of balm can offer a powerful form of escapism.
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Lip balm sales rise as Britons seek affordable luxuries in cost-of-living squeeze

When you’re running a small business, every dollar counts — and when you hear “OSHA compliance,” your first thought might be, “Great, how much is this going to cost me?”
You’re not alone. Thousands of small business owners worry about how to meet safety standards without blowing their budget or slowing down growth. But the truth is OSHA compliance doesn’t have to be expensive (and ignoring it could cost you a lot more).
Whether you’re operating a warehouse, managing a construction crew, or just getting your first few employees into a facility, staying ahead of safety requirements is key to protecting your people and your bottom line.
With this in mind, let’s walk through some practical, low-cost ways to meet OSHA standards — even if you’re a lean operation with limited resources.
Start With Free Resources
Before you pay for a consultant or a fancy training program, look at what OSHA already offers for free. The agency isn’t just there to enforce rules — it actually provides a ton of resources to help businesses understand and meet them.
You can access:

Industry-specific safety guidelines
Printable checklists
Hazard identification tools
Recordkeeping forms
Sample safety and health programs

And best of all, OSHA’s On-Site Consultation Program offers free, confidential safety visits for small businesses — with no penalties or fines. They’ll assess your worksite and help you fix hazards without reporting anything to enforcement. Think of it as a free second opinion before the real inspector ever shows up.
Build the Habit of Internal Safety Walkthroughs
You don’t need a degree in safety management to walk through your facility with a sharp eye. The goal is to identify potential risks and take action before anyone gets hurt. Things like blocked fire exits, frayed cords, wet floors, and improperly stored chemicals are common violations that can often be corrected in minutes once noticed. (You just have to use common sense.)
Make it a habit to walk your workspace weekly or monthly, depending on the risk level of your environment. Keep a notebook or a shared doc where you track what you’ve found and what’s been fixed. Employees should be encouraged to flag concerns, too. They often spot issues faster than anyone else. Involving them helps you stay ahead of problems you might otherwise miss.
Train Smarter, Not More Expensively
One of the biggest costs small businesses face with OSHA compliance is training. Sending employees to off-site sessions or bringing in trainers can be both time-consuming and expensive. But today, there’s a better way.
Online training and certifications have made OSHA compliance easier and more budget-friendly than ever. One smart example is online forklift certification. If your team uses powered industrial trucks, OSHA requires that operators be certified. Rather than sending workers off-site for a day or more, online forklift certification allows them to complete the training at their own pace and on their own schedule.
Turn Safety Into a Daily Mindset
Compliance is about culture. When safety becomes part of your company’s everyday rhythm, you’re protecting your team, building an environment of accountability, and saying that you prioritize professionalism.
That doesn’t have to mean long meetings or complex initiatives. A five-minute safety huddle in the morning can go a long way. So can calling out good safety habits when you see them, encouraging open communication about hazards, and making it easy for employees to report concerns.
When your team feels like safety is everyone’s job — not just management’s — you’re far less likely to deal with costly accidents or citations.
Stay Organized With Your Records
If OSHA comes knocking, being able to show your work is critical. That means keeping clear, up-to-date records of your safety efforts. (Even if you’re doing everything right, failing to document it can put you at risk.)
At a minimum, you should keep records of all safety training completed by employees, any equipment inspections or repairs, incident and near-miss reports, and internal walkthrough notes. Something as simple as a cloud folder or physical binder system works just fine, as long as it’s updated and accessible.
Make Small, Strategic Upgrades
Many small businesses assume that bringing a space up to OSHA standards means spending thousands on renovations. In reality, some of the most effective safety improvements are also the most affordable.
Adding anti-slip mats, improving signage, checking that fire extinguishers are accessible and up to date, upgrading lighting in dim corners, or installing guards on dangerous equipment are all relatively low-cost actions that make a major impact. You don’t need to do everything at once — just tackle the highest-risk areas first, and set a quarterly schedule for addressing others.
Over time, these small improvements compound into a safer, more compliant, and more professional operation.
Creating a Plan
All it takes to meet OSHA requirements is a little bit of knowledge and proactive planning. With a clear plan, a proactive mindset, and the discipline to make safety a regular part of your operations, you can accomplish almost anything you set out to do.
Read more:
Budget-Friendly Compliance Tips for Growing Operations

The Ministry of Defence has flagged and rejected more than £211 billion in suspicious invoices over the past three years, as it ramps up efforts to combat financial fraud within one of the government’s most complex and high-value departments.
According to official figures obtained via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and analysed by the Parliament Street think tank, the MoD rejected a total of 8,918 invoices, citing concerns over invalid pricing, tax anomalies, missing supplier data, duplicate entries, and inactive purchase orders. The total value of the rejected invoices reached £211,649,900,000.
While 5,063 of the flagged invoices were later corrected and resubmitted, 3,855 were permanently rejected, highlighting the scale of attempted or accidental misbilling within the ministry’s procurement system.
The revelations follow a string of high-profile fraud cases that have rocked the MoD’s internal accounting and financial oversight systems.
In April, former corporal Aaron Stelmach-Purdie was sentenced to prison for orchestrating a £911,677 fraud by exploiting the MoD’s staff expenses platform. The court heard that he manipulated allowance claims, pocketing over £550,000 for himself.
Just two months later, army soldier Andrew Oakes was convicted of stealing more than £300,000, using his position as a financial administrator to forge cheque stubs and redirect funds to personal accounts. The stolen money was used to purchase multiple high-end vehicles, including three Teslas, a Mini Cooper, and a Nissan Qashqai.
These cases have prompted calls for tighter financial controls and modernisation of verification systems, with growing consensus around the role of AI and machine learning in fraud prevention.
Jason Kurtz, CEO of e-invoicing platform Basware, said the scale of rejected invoices highlights the vulnerability of public sector finance systems.
“When fraud is suspected, we often see large fluctuations in billing as criminals exploit stolen or cloned credentials,” Kurtz explained. “Blocking payments is only half the battle — the resource burden of investigating fake or incomplete invoices is enormous.”
He called for greater deployment of AI-powered verification tools that can vet invoices before they enter the payment system, reducing the burden on overstretched finance teams.
Dr Janet Bastiman, chief data scientist at Napier AI, added that invoice fraud is a common tactic used by organised crime to siphon funds from high-volume government departments.
“Malicious actors frequently use fake paperwork and rogue bank accounts to fuel money laundering and illicit operations,” Bastiman said. “Government departments managing thousands of supplier payments a day are obvious targets. AI-powered anomaly detection offers a proactive way to catch suspicious transactions before the damage is done.”
With the MoD facing increasing scrutiny over its financial management, defence officials are under pressure to strengthen invoice auditing systems and modernise their approach to procurement oversight.
The sheer volume and value of flagged invoices suggest that existing safeguards — while catching many of the most egregious examples — are not fully equipped to prevent fraud at scale.
The findings come at a time when public trust in defence spending remains fragile, and fiscal discipline is under intense political focus. As the MoD contends with rising operational costs and evolving global threats, its financial resilience may increasingly depend on its digital defences as much as its physical ones.
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MoD received £211bn worth of suspicious invoices in three years amid fraud crackdown